Reading 1
Is 8:23—9:3
First the Lord degraded the land of Zebulun
and the land of Naphtali;
but in the end he has glorified the seaward road,
the land west of the Jordan,
the District of the Gentiles.
Anguish has taken wing, dispelled is darkness:
for there is no gloom where but now there was distress.
The people who walked in darkness
have seen a great light;
upon those who dwelt in the land of gloom
a light has shone.
You have brought them abundant joy
and great rejoicing,
as they rejoice before you as at the harvest,
as people make merry when dividing spoils.
For the yoke that burdened them,
the pole on their shoulder,
and the rod of their taskmaster
you have smashed, as on the day of Midian.
Responsorial Psalm
Ps 27:1, 4, 13-14
R. (1a) The Lord is my light and my salvation.
The Lord is my light and my salvation;
whom should I fear?
The Lord is my life’s refuge;
of whom should I be afraid?
R. The Lord is my light and my salvation.
One thing I ask of the Lord;
this I seek:
To dwell in the house of the Lord
all the days of my life,
That I may gaze on the loveliness of the Lord
and contemplate his temple.
R. The Lord is my light and my salvation.
I believe that I shall see the bounty of the Lord
in the land of the living.
Wait for the Lord with courage;
be stouthearted, and wait for the Lord.
R. The Lord is my light and my salvation.
Reading II
1 Cor 1:10-13, 17
I urge you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,
that all of you agree in what you say,
and that there be no divisions among you,
but that you be united in the same mind and in the same purpose.
For it has been reported to me about you, my brothers and sisters,
by Chloe’s people, that there are rivalries among you.
I mean that each of you is saying,
“I belong to Paul,” or “I belong to Apollos,”
or “I belong to Cephas,” or “I belong to Christ.”
Is Christ divided?
Was Paul crucified for you?
Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?
For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel,
and not with the wisdom of human eloquence,
so that the cross of Christ might not be emptied of its meaning.
Gospel
Mt 4:12-23 or 4:12-17
When Jesus heard that John had been arrested,
he withdrew to Galilee.
He left Nazareth and went to live in Capernaum by the sea,
in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali,
that what had been said through Isaiah the prophet
might be fulfilled:
Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali,
the way to the sea, beyond the Jordan,
Galilee of the Gentiles,
the people who sit in darkness have seen a great light,
on those dwelling in a land overshadowed by death
light has arisen.From that time on, Jesus began to preach and say,
“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
As he was walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers,
Simon who is called Peter, and his brother Andrew,
casting a net into the sea; they were fishermen.
He said to them,
“Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men.”
At once they left their nets and followed him.
He walked along from there and saw two other brothers,
James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John.
They were in a boat, with their father Zebedee, mending their nets.
He called them, and immediately they left their boat and their father
and followed him.
He went around all of Galilee,
teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom,
and curing every disease and illness among the people.
or
When Jesus heard that John had been arrested,
he withdrew to Galilee.
He left Nazareth and went to live in Capernaum by the sea,
in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali,
that what had been said through Isaiah the prophet
might be fulfilled:
Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali,
the way to the sea, beyond the Jordan,
Galilee of the Gentiles,
the people who sit in darkness have seen a great light,
on those dwelling in a land overshadowed by death
light has arisen.
From that time on, Jesus began to preach and say,
“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible
First reading Isaiah 8:23 - 9:3
In days past he humbled the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in days to come he will confer glory on the Way of the Sea on the far side of Jordan, province of the nations.
The people that walked in darkness
has seen a great light;
on those who live in a land of deep shadow
a light has shone.
You have made their gladness greater,
you have made their joy increase;
they rejoice in your presence
as men rejoice at harvest time,
as men are happy when they are dividing the spoils.
Psalm: Psalm 26:1,4,13-14
The Lord is my light and my help.
The Lord is my light and my help;
whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life;
before whom shall I shrink?
The Lord is my light and my help.
There is one thing I ask of the Lord,
for this I long,
to live in the house of the Lord,
all the days of my life,
to savour the sweetness of the Lord,
to behold his temple.
The Lord is my light and my help.
I am sure I shall see the Lord’s goodness
in the land of the living.
Hope in him, hold firm and take heart.
Hope in the Lord!
The Lord is my light and my help.
Second reading 1 Corinthians 1:10 – 17
I appeal to you, brothers, for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ, to make up the differences between you, and instead of disagreeing among yourselves, to be united again in your belief and practice. From what Chloe’s people have been telling me, my dear brothers, it is clear that there are serious differences among you. What I mean are all these slogans that you have, like: ‘I am for Paul’, ‘I am for Apollos’, ‘I am for Cephas’, ‘I am for Christ’. Has Christ been parceled out? Was it Paul that was crucified for you? Were you baptized in the name of Paul? For Christ did not send me to baptise, but to preach the Good News, and not to preach that in the terms of philosophy in which the crucifixion of Christ cannot be expressed.
Gospel Matthew 4:12 – 23
Hearing that John had been arrested, Jesus went back to Galilee, and leaving Nazareth he went and settled in Capernaum, a lakeside town on the borders of Zebulun and Naphtali. In this way the prophecy of Isaiah was to be fulfilled:
‘Land of Zebulun! Land of Naphtali!
Way of the sea on the far side of Jordan,
Galilee of the nations!
The people that lived in darkness has seen a great light;
on those who dwell in the land and shadow of death
a light has dawned.’From that moment Jesus began his preaching with the message, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is close at hand’.
As he was walking by the Sea of Galilee he saw two brothers, Simon, who was called Peter, and his brother Andrew; they were making a cast in the lake with their net, for they were fishermen. And he said to them, ‘Follow me and I will make you fishers of men’. And they left their nets at once and followed him. Going on from there he saw another pair of brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John; they were in their boat with their father Zebedee, mending their nets, and he called them. At once, leaving the boat and their father, they followed him.
He went round the whole of Galilee teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the Good News of the kingdom and curing all kinds of diseases and sickness among the people.
Alternative Gospel: Matthew 4:12-17
Hearing that John had been arrested, Jesus went back to Galilee, and leaving Nazareth he went and settled in Capernaum, a lakeside town on the borders of Zebulun and Naphtali. In this way the prophecy of Isaiah was to be fulfilled:
‘Land of Zebulun! Land of Naphtali!
Way of the sea on the far side of Jordan,
Galilee of the nations!
The people that lived in darkness has seen a great light;
on those who dwell in the land and shadow of death
a light has dawned.’
From that moment Jesus began his preaching with the message, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is close at hand.’
Readings and Commentary from the Navarre Bible
3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time
From: Isaiah 9:1-4 -- RSVCE (8:23 - 9:3 -- NAB)
The Prince of Peace
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[1] But there will be no gloom for her that was in anguish. In the former time he brought into contempt the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the latter time he will make glorious the way of the sea, the land beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations.
[2] The people who walked in darkness
have seen a great light;
those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness
on them has light shined.
[3] Thou hast multiplied the nation,
thou hast increased its joy;
they rejoice before thee
as with joy at the harvest,
as men rejoice when they divide the spoil.
[4] For the yoke of his burden,
and the staff for his shoulder,
the rod of his oppressor,
thou hast broken as on the day of Midian.
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Commentary:
9:1-7. At this point, though not yet very clearly, we begin to see the figure of King Hezekiah, who, unlike his father Ahaz, was a pious man who put all his trust in the Lord. After Galilee was laid waste by Tiglath-pileser III of Assyria, and its population subsequently deported (cf. 8:21-22), Hezekiah of Judah would re-conquer that region, which would recover its splendor for a period. All this gave grounds for hope again.
This oracle may have a connexion with the Immanuel prophecy (7:1-17), and the child with messianic prerogatives that has been born (cf. 9:6-7) could be the child that Isaiah prophesied about (cf. 7:14). For this reason, 9:1-7 is seen as the second oracle of the Immanuel cycle. This "child" that is born, the son given to us, is a gift from God (9:6), because it is a sign that God is present among his people. The Hebrew text attributes four qualities to the child which seem to embrace all the typical features of Israel's illustrious forebears -- the wisdom of Solomon (cf. 1 Kings 3: "Wonderful Counsellor"), the prowess of David (cf. 1 Sam 7: "Mighty God"), the administrative skills of Moses (cf. Ex 18:13-26) as liberator, guide and father of the people (cf. Deut 34:10-12), ("Everlasting Father"), and the virtues of the early patriarchs, who made peace pacts (cf. Gen 21:22-34; 26:15-35; 23: 6), ("Prince of peace"). In the old Latin Vulgate, the translation gave six features ("Admirabilis, Consiliarius, Deus, Fortis, Pater future saeculi, Princeps pacis"); these have found their way into the liturgy. The New Vulgate has reverted to the Hebrew text. Either way, what we have here are titles that Semite nations applied to the reigning monarch; but, taken together, they go far beyond what befitted Hezekiah or any other king of Judah. Therefore, Christian tradition has interpreted them as being appropriate only for Jesus. St Bernard, for example, explains the justification for these names as follows: "He is Wonderful in his birth, Counsellor in his preaching, God in his works, Mighty in the Passion, Everlasting Father in the resurrection, and Prince of Peace in eternal happiness" (Sermones de diversis, 53, 1).
Because these names are applied to Jesus, the short-term conquest of Galilee by Hezekiah is seen as being only an announcement of the definitive salvation brought about by Christ. In the Gospels we find echoes of this oracle in a number of passages that refer to Jesus. When Luke narrates the Annunciation by the angel to Mary (Lk 1:31-33) we hear that the son that she will conceive and give birth to will receive "the throne of his father David and he will reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end" (Lk 1:32b-33; cf. Is 9:7). And in the account about the shepherds of Bethlehem, they are told that "to you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord …" (Lk 2:11-12; cf. Is 9:6). St Matthew sees the beginning of Jesus' ministry in Galilee (Mt 4:12-17) as the fulfillment of this Isaian oracle (cf. Is 9:1): the lands that in the prophet's time were laid waste and saw ethnic cleansing and transplantation were the first to receive the light of salvation from the Messiah.
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From: 1 Corinthians 1:10-13, 17
An Appeal for Unity
-----------------------------
[10] I appeal to you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree and that there be no dissensions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment. [11] For it has been reported to me by Chloe's people that there is quarrelling among you, my brethren. [12] What I mean is that each of you says "I belong to Paul" or, "I belong to Apollos," or "I belong to Cephas," or "I belong to Christ." [13] Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul? [17] For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.
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Commentary:
10-17. St Paul takes the Corinthians to task for the strife in their community --not, it seems, quarrels over matters of doctrine, but minor disagreements due to preferences for certain teachers. Even so, the Apostle is very much against factions, and he starts his letter by stressing that unity is essential to the Church.
He makes four points, as it were -- an appeal (v. 10); a description of the state of affairs in Corinth (vv. 11-12); a doctrinal reflection: Christ cannot be divided (v. 13); and a summary of his (Paul's) ministry (vv. 14-17).
His appeal is virtually a warning: "I appeal to you by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ." The Apostle only calls on the name of our Lord when he has very serious counsel to offer (cf. 1 Thess 4:1; 2 Thess 3:6); he makes it clear that it is a very grave matter to put the unity of the Church at risk. Each of these groups in Corinth is appealing to whichever authority it prefers -- without Paul, Apollos or Cephas having any say in the matter. Christ cannot be divided and therefore neither can the Church, Christ's body (cf. 1 Cor 12:12-31).
Finally, St Paul points out their feeble grounds for basing divisions on personal relationships: very few of them can claim to have been baptized by him, because his concentration has been on evangelization.
This entire passage is a defense of Church unity. Throughout the centuries the Church has confessed this truth of faith -- from the Apostles' Creed ("I believe in the Holy Catholic Church") right down to the "Creed of the People of God" of Paul VI: "We believe that the Church which Christ founded and for which he prayed is indefectibly one in faith and in worship, and one in the communion of a single hierarchy" (no.21 ).
10. "That you all agree...in the same mind and the same judgment": St Paul is not calling for mere external unity or just living peaceably or being sure to come together for certain liturgical ceremonies. He wants something that goes much deeper than that: the concord that should reign among them should stem from their being of one mind, from feeling the same way about things. In saying this he obviously does not mean to restrict the freedom every Christian enjoys as far as earthly affairs are concerned: it is the unity "of the Church" that Paul is discussing, and in that area there is no room for factions among Christians (cf. v. 11 ). Differences, diversity , which do not affect the unity of the Church are something lawful and positively good.
One basic dimension of Church unity is unity of faith. That is why the Fathers and the Magisterium have borrowed from what St Paul says here, to show that genuine progress in understanding the content of truths of faith must always keep in line with earlier understanding of the same: "any meaning of the sacred dogmas that has once been declared by holy Mother Church must always be retained; and there must never be any deviation from that meaning on the specious grounds of a more profound understanding. 'Therefore, let there be growth [...] and all possible progress in understanding, knowledge, and wisdom whether in single individuals or in the whole body, in each man as well as in the entire Church, according to the stage of their development but only within proper limits, that is, in the same doctrine, in the same meaning, and in the same purport ["eodem sensu eademque sententia"]' (St Vincent of Lerins, "Commonitorium", 28)'. (Vatican I, "Dei Filius", chap. 4).
11-12. St Paul now goes on to discuss the dissensions (v .10) which "Chloe's people" have told him about. We must presume that Chloe was a woman well known in the church at Corinth; and obviously there is no question of secret denunciations but of a well-intentioned effort to bring to Paul's attention a problem requiring solution. Chloe's people might have been members of her family or servants of hers who had visited the Apostle in Ephesus (cf. 1 Cor 16:15-17).
Although St Paul does not go into much detail, we can see that a number of groupings had grown up among the Corinthians. They each claimed to follow a prominent Christian (clearly without any encouragement from their "heroes"), and a certain rivalry had developed which could easily undermine the unity of faith. The group who claimed Apollos -- a Jewish convert from Alexandria (Egypt), a man of eloquence, well versed in the Scriptures (cf. Acts 18:24-28) – would have emerged after Apollos spent some time preaching in Corinth shortly after Paul left there ( cf. Acts 19:1 ).
"I belong to Cephas": the Peter group may have consisted of people who knew him to be the leader of the Apostles (cf. 3:21-23; 9:4-5; 15:5); St Peter may have passed through Corinth at some point, but there is no evidence of a visit and it is more likely that some of his disciples or converts had come to the city.
"I belong to Christ": this can be interpreted as a reference either to a fourth group very attached to certain preachers from Jerusalem, of a Judaizing tendency – and therefore very attached to Jewish traditions and very disinclined to acknowledge the newness of Christ's message; or else to some Christians who were disgusted at the petty quarrelling of the other groups and, therefore, would naturally claim to belong to Christ and only to Christ. It is possible, however, that this is a personal statement of St Paul's, designed to show how foolish these groups are: You may say that you belong to Paul, to Apollos or to Peter: but I belong to Christ.
What the Apostle says here should lead us to avoid narrow-mindedness: each of us has his own job to do, where God put him, but he should also make his own the sentiments and concerns of the universal Church.
13-16. Crispus was, or had been, the ruler of the synagogue at Corinth and had become a Christian through Paul's preaching (cf. Acts 18:8). Gaius was another convert of Paul's and the Apostle had stayed with him when he was in Corinth (cf. Rom 16:2). Stephanas' family had been the first to be converted in the province of Achaia; and Stephanas himself was now with St Paul in Ephesus (cf. 1 Cor 16:15-17).
There is no excuse for divisions, the Apostle tells them: unity is not dependent on which teacher you had or who baptized you; it is something based on Christ -- whom all the preachers preach; Christ was the one who was crucified for everyone, and his is the name they were baptized in. And there is only one Christ;
It is through Baptism, the door of the Christian life, that a Christian becomes part of the one body of Christ; there the merits gained by Christ on the cross are applied to him, and the baptized person is configured to his dead and risen Lord: "Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father we too might walk in newness of life" (Rom 6:3-4). And the Second Vatican Council states that: "by the sacrament of Baptism [...] man becomes truly incorporated into the crucified and glorified Christ and is reborn to a sharing of the divine life, as the Apostle says: 'for you were buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead' (Col 2:12)" ("Unitatis Redintegratio", 22).
17. In the first part of this verse St Paul is giving the reasons for his actions as described in the preceding verses. The second part he uses to broach a new subject -- the huge difference between this world's wisdom and the wisdom of God.
"Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the Gospel": this is a reminder that preaching is St Paul's main task, as it is of the other Apostles (cf. Mk 3:14). This does not imply a belittling of Baptism: in his mandate to the Apostles to go out into the whole world (cf. Mt 28:19-20), our Lord charged them to baptize as well as to preach, and we know that St Paul did administer Baptism. But Baptism -- the sacrament of faith -- presupposes preaching: "faith comes from what is heard" (Rom 10:17). St Paul concentrates on preachrig, leaving it to others to baptize and gather the fruit -- a further sign of his detachment and upright intention.
In Christian catechesis, evangelization and the sacraments are interdependent. Preaching can help people to receive the sacraments with better dispositions, and it can make them more aware of what the sacraments are; and the graces which the sacraments bring help them to understand the preaching they hear and to be more docile to it. "Evangelization thus exercises its full capacity when it achieves the most intimate relationship, or better still a permanent and unbroken intercommunication, between the Word and the Sacraments. In a certain sense it is a mistake to make a contrast between evangelization and sacramentalization, as is sometimes done. It is indeed true that a certain way of administering the Sacraments, without the solid support of catechesis regarding these same Sacraments and a global catechesis, could end up by depriving them of their effectiveness to a great extent The role of evangelization is precisely to educate people in the faith so as to lead each individual Christian to live the Sacraments as true Sacraments of faith -- and not to receive them passively or apathetically" (Paul VI, "Evangelii Nuntiandi", 47).
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From: Matthew 4:12-23
Preaching in Galilee. The First Disciples are Called
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[12] Now when he (Jesus) heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew into Galilee; [13] and leaving Nazareth he went and dwelt in Capernaum by the sea, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali, [14] that what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled:
[15] "The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, toward the sea, across the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles--[16] the people who sat in darkness have seen a great light, and for those who sat in the region and shadow of death light has dawned." [17] From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."
[18] As he walked by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon who is called Peter and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. [19] And he said to them, "Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men." [20] Immediately they left their nets and followed him. [21] And going on from there he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets, and he called them. [22] Immediately, they left the boat and their father, and followed him.
[23] And he went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and preaching the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every infirmity among the people.
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Commentary:
15-16. Here St Matthew quotes the prophecy of Isaiah 8:23- 9:1. The territory referred to (Zebulun, Naphtali, the way of the sea, the land beyond the Jordan), was invaded by the Assyrians in the period 734-721 B.C., especially during the reign of Tilgathpilneser III. A portion of the Jewish population was deported and sizeable numbers of foreigners were planted in the region to colonize it. For this reason it is referred to in the Bible henceforward as the "Galilee of the Gentiles".
The evangelist, inspired by God, sees Jesus' coming to Galilee as the fulfillment of Isaiah's prophecy. This land, devastated and abused in Isaiah's time, will be the first to receive the light of Christ's life and preaching. The messianic meaning of the prophecy is, therefore, clear.
17. See the note on Mt 3:4. This verse indicates the outstanding importance of the first step in Jesus' public ministry, begun by proclaiming the imminence of the Kingdom of God. Jesus' words echo John the Baptist's proclamation: the second part of this verse is the same, word for word, as Matthew 3:2. This underlines the role played by St John the Baptist as prophet and precursor of Jesus. Both St John and our Lord demand repentance, penance, as a prerequisite to receiving the Kingdom of God, now beginning. God's rule over mankind is a main theme in Christ's Revelation, just as it was central to the whole Old Testament. However, in the latter, the Kingdom of God had an element of theocracy about it: God reigned over Israel in both spiritual and temporal affairs and it was through him that Israel subjected other nations to her rule. Little by little, Jesus will unfold the new-style Kingdom of God, now arrived at its fullness. He will show it to be a Kingdom of love and holiness, thereby purifying it of the nationalistic misconceptions of the people of his time.
The King invites everyone without exception to this Kingdom (cf. Mt 22:1-14). The Banquet of the Kingdom is held on this earth and has certain entry requirements which must be preached by the proponents of the Kingdom: "Therefore the eucharistic celebration is the center of the assembly of the faithful over which the priest presides. Hence priests teach the faithful to offer the divine Victim to God the Father in the sacrifice of the Mass, and with the Victim to make an offering of their whole lives. In the spirit of Christ the pastor, they instruct them to submit their sins to the Church with a contrite heart in the sacrament of Penance, so that they may be daily more and more converted to the Lord, remembering his words: 'Repent, for the Kingdom of heaven is at hand"' (Vatican II, "Presbyterorum Ordinis", 5).
18-22. These four disciples had already met our Lord (John 1:35-42), and their brief meeting with Him seems to have had a powerful effect on their souls. In this way Christ prepared their vocation, a fully effective vocation which moved them to leave everything behind so as to follow him and be his disciples. Standing out above their human defects (which the Gospels never conceal), we can see the exemplary generosity and promptness of the Apostles in answering God's call.
The thoughtful reader cannot fail to be struck by the delightful simplicity with which the evangelists describe the calling of these men in the midst of their daily work.
"God draws us from the shadows of our ignorance, our groping through history, and, no matter what our occupation in the world, he calls us in a loud voice, as he once called Peter and Andrew" ([Blessed] J. Escriva, "Christ Is Passing By," 45).
"This divine and human dialogue completely changed the lives of John and Andrew, and Peter and James and so many others. It prepared their hearts to listen to the authoritative teaching which Jesus gave them beside the Sea of Galilee" ("ibid"., 108).
We should notice the words of Sacred Scripture used to describe the alacrity with which the Apostles follow our Lord. Peter and Andrew "immediately" left their nets and followed him. Similarly, James and John "immediately" left the boats and their father and followed him. God passes by and calls us. If we do not answer him "immediately", he may continue on his way and we could lose sight of him. When God passes by, he may do so rapidly; it would be sad if we were to fall behind because we wanted to follow him while still carrying many things that are only a dead weight and a nuisance.
23. "Synagogue": this word comes from the Greek and designates the building where the Jews assembled for religious ceremonies on the sabbath and other feast days. Such ceremonies were non-sacrificial in character (sacrifices could be performed only in the temple of Jerusalem). The synagogue was also the place where the Jews received their religious training. The word was also used to designate local Jewish communities within and without Palestine.
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Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.
Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and by Scepter Publishers in the United States. We encourage readers to purchase The Navarre Bible for personal study. See Scepter Publishers for details.
[1] ‘…At the conclusion of the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy, I proposed setting aside “a Sunday given over entirely to the word of God, so as to appreciate the inexhaustible riches contained in that constant dialogue between the Lord and his people”. Devoting a specific Sunday of the liturgical year to the word of God can enable the Church to experience anew how the risen Lord opens up for us the treasury of his word and enables us to proclaim its unfathomable riches before the world…
‘Consequently,
I hereby declare that the Third Sunday in Ordinary Time is to be devoted to the celebration, study and dissemination of the word of God. This Sunday of the Word of God will thus be a fitting part of that time of the year when we are encouraged to strengthen our bonds with the Jewish people and to pray for Christian unity. This is more than a temporal coincidence: the celebration of the Sunday of the Word of God has ecumenical value, since the Scriptures point out, for those who listen, the path to authentic and firm unity.
‘The various communities will find their own ways to mark this Sunday with a certain solemnity. It is important, however, that in the Eucharistic celebration the sacred text be enthroned, in order to focus the attention of the assembly on the normative value of God’s word. On this Sunday, it would be particularly appropriate to highlight the proclamation of the word of the Lord and to emphasize in the homily the honour that it is due. Bishops could celebrate the Rite of Installation of Lectors or a similar commissioning of readers, in order to bring out the importance of the proclamation of God’s word in the liturgy. In this regard, renewed efforts should be made to provide members of the faithful with the training needed to be genuine proclaimers of the word, as is already the practice in the case of acolytes or extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion. Pastors can also find ways of giving a Bible, or one of its books, to the entire assembly as a way of showing the importance of learning how to read, appreciate and pray daily with sacred Scripture, especially through the practice of lectio divina.’
The Apostolic Letter "
Aperuit Illis" of Pope Francis
Given in Rome, at the Basilica of Saint John Lateran, on 30 September 2019, the liturgical Memorial of Saint Jerome, on the inauguration of the 1600th anniversary of his death.
